Picture this: you’ve just left the ortho’s office, your mouth feels like it’s been in a boxing match, and your fridge is suddenly full of pudding cups and applesauce. I swear, when my braces got tightened last week, I was ready to name every item in the dairy aisle because that’s all I could “eat” (if you can call spooning yogurt into your mouth eating).
It was honestly kind of funny—my family started joking that I should just blend my dinner and drink it with a straw. I seriously considered it after trying to chew a piece of bread and basically giving up. The pain isn’t the worst thing ever, but it’s like this constant dull ache, and anything that isn’t soft just feels impossible. Also, why do mashed potatoes taste ten times better when you’re desperate?
Here’s where the story idea comes in: imagine a world where everyone has to go through “braces week” once in their life—no matter how old they are. You get randomly assigned your week (could be at 8, could be at 38), and during that time, all you can eat is soft foods. There’s this underground network of people trading secret recipes for “gourmet” oatmeal and sharing tips on how to make scrambled eggs interesting for the tenth meal in a row. Maybe there’s even a black market for slightly crunchy snacks (for the brave souls willing to risk it).
What would your character’s go-to soft food be? Would they be one of those people who tries to blend pizza or just gives in and lives on ice cream? And how would society change if everyone had to do this weird rite of passage? Kinda curious what other “soft food hacks” people have tried in real life too…
I just got my braces on two days ago and honestly, I never realized how much I’d miss chewing. I tried to eat a banana and even that felt like a workout for my teeth. My current go-to is instant mashed potatoes with way too much butter, and I’ve started microwaving canned soup until it’s basically lava. I did try to blend spaghetti once—wouldn’t recommend unless you like your food looking like baby food. If this “braces week” was mandatory for everyone, I think we’d see a lot more creative uses for blenders... and maybe a national shortage of pudding.
I tried to eat a banana and even that felt like a workout for my teeth.
I totally get this. The first few days, I made a list of “safe” foods and bananas were at the top... but even those felt like chewing gravel. I found that letting food cool down helped a bit—lava soup just made my mouth feel worse after. Also, yogurt is surprisingly filling if you get the Greek kind, and it doesn’t take any chewing at all. I did try oatmeal, but the texture was weird with sore teeth. Anyone else find applesauce too sweet after a while?
Greek yogurt was my go-to too, but I got so tired of it after a few days. I actually tried mashing up canned pears since applesauce started tasting way too sweet for me, like you said. Did anyone else worry about getting stuff stuck in their brackets? I was so paranoid about that, I probably brushed my teeth five times a day... The whole “safe food” list thing is real—just wish more of those foods actually felt safe to eat. Hang in there, it does get better.
Mashed potatoes are basically the MVP of braces week, no contest. I tell my patients to lean into the potato life—add a little cheese or sour cream and suddenly you don’t feel like you’re missing out as much. And yeah, the paranoia about stuff getting stuck is real. I’ve seen people with entire salads wedged in their brackets (not recommended). My personal hack: microwave mac and cheese until it’s almost soup. Not gourmet, but it slides right past the wires and doesn’t require chewing.
